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Millennial Mage #1
Mageling
The Wilds relentlessly reclaim all things. Humanity shelters within their ever-dying cities. Mages create the only path forward.
Tala had to fight tooth and nail in the Magic Academy to forge a path to power that was her own. She knows it’s her duty to use that power to serve humanity, defending them against the creatures of the untamable wilds. However, she skipped a few steps in her education, like apprenticing to someone who actually knows what they’re doing.
Now, Tala has to balance learning as fast as she can with paying off the veritable mountain of debt the Magic Academy dropped on her shoulders for the opportunity; not to mention staying alive.
Even though she should only be a Mageling, the world considers her a Mage. Bless the stars she directed most of her magic toward survival.
Tala had to fight tooth and nail in the Magic Academy to forge a path to power that was her own. She knows it’s her duty to use that power to serve humanity, defending them against the creatures of the untamable wilds. However, she skipped a few steps in her education, like apprenticing to someone who actually knows what they’re doing.
Now, Tala has to balance learning as fast as she can with paying off the veritable mountain of debt the Magic Academy dropped on her shoulders for the opportunity; not to mention staying alive.
Even though she should only be a Mageling, the world considers her a Mage. Bless the stars she directed most of her magic toward survival.
549 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 15, 2023
1012 people are currently reading
1288 people want to read
About the author
J.L. Mullins
15 books91 followersJ.L.Mullins has been writing since he was five years old. Blessedly, he has improved through the years, and while 'The Case of the Missing Stapler' will likely never see widespread publication, Mullins enjoys little more than sharing his newer stories—his worlds—with others.
He lives with his wife, six kids, and their rescue-akita named Fenrir.
Find him on Patreon:
patreon.com/MillennialMage
Join his Discord:
discord.gg/FddACAjUrR
Find the latest on Millennial Mage here:
royalroad.com/fiction/47826
He lives with his wife, six kids, and their rescue-akita named Fenrir.
Find him on Patreon:
patreon.com/MillennialMage
Join his Discord:
discord.gg/FddACAjUrR
Find the latest on Millennial Mage here:
royalroad.com/fiction/47826
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews
October 6, 2025
This is an interesting story that's a bit hard to categorize. It isn't LitRPG or isekai or cultivator. But it feels a bit like those kinds of stories. I suppose it most closely approximates Japanese Light Novels, but mostly because that's such a loose categorization. Or my understanding of it is loose. Something like that.
It's a simple-enough action story without a lot of deliberate plot. Tala is a new-minted mage entering the professional world with a giant debt that isn't her fault. I was initially afraid that this was pushing her to do stupid things, which it kind of is. But it wasn't in the feared extreme and Tala isn't a complete idiot, just young and under pressure. And I was afraid that she would lie herself into a position she couldn't handle, but was pleasantly surprised that her new friend and others knew the risk and accepted her for her useful skills, even knowing she was untried.
So this really is an actiony slice-of-life as advertised on Amazon (where it says in the title "A Slice of Life Progression Fantasy"). Tala has challenges and she experiments a lot with insufficient information. So she often has to scramble a bit to keep from dying inconveniently. But none of that added up to too-stupid-to-live (a relief) and all of it was engaging (a pleasure). And I liked the originality of the worldbuilding, too.
I'm going to give it four stars because it feels a lot like this is adapted from a serial and the cracks sometimes show (repeated information and establishing details that have already been related). Including that it mostly just ends at a convenient stopping-place rather than anything like a full-on ending. That said, it was a great deal fun, and I fully intend to read the next.
A note about Chaste: Tala doesn't have time for romantic entanglements and frankly, she's not looking for anything but jobs and skills. Which fit very well, I think, but also makes this a very chaste read. Okay, the magic system has clothing interfere with magic, so many mages don't wear much and Tala has an occasional nude episode for plot reasons. None of that is played for titillation or felt gratuitous, but you could find that non-chaste, even as detail-less as it is.
A note on rereading: I'm rereading this to see if the social norms around sex, marriage, and family show up earlier than book ten. This book has a couple of scenes where sex is referenced in kind of modern ways. Things like a group of robbers being extra gross by considering taking time with a pretty girl. It's also (elsewhere) implied that prostitution is a thing. Which doesn't square with the whole soul bonding afterglow of sex that we get in those later books. So yeah. It's looking like the author probably invented those social constructs after the fact. Probably.
It's a simple-enough action story without a lot of deliberate plot. Tala is a new-minted mage entering the professional world with a giant debt that isn't her fault. I was initially afraid that this was pushing her to do stupid things, which it kind of is. But it wasn't in the feared extreme and Tala isn't a complete idiot, just young and under pressure. And I was afraid that she would lie herself into a position she couldn't handle, but was pleasantly surprised that her new friend and others knew the risk and accepted her for her useful skills, even knowing she was untried.
So this really is an actiony slice-of-life as advertised on Amazon (where it says in the title "A Slice of Life Progression Fantasy"). Tala has challenges and she experiments a lot with insufficient information. So she often has to scramble a bit to keep from dying inconveniently. But none of that added up to too-stupid-to-live (a relief) and all of it was engaging (a pleasure). And I liked the originality of the worldbuilding, too.
I'm going to give it four stars because it feels a lot like this is adapted from a serial and the cracks sometimes show (repeated information and establishing details that have already been related). Including that it mostly just ends at a convenient stopping-place rather than anything like a full-on ending. That said, it was a great deal fun, and I fully intend to read the next.
A note about Chaste: Tala doesn't have time for romantic entanglements and frankly, she's not looking for anything but jobs and skills. Which fit very well, I think, but also makes this a very chaste read. Okay, the magic system has clothing interfere with magic, so many mages don't wear much and Tala has an occasional nude episode for plot reasons. None of that is played for titillation or felt gratuitous, but you could find that non-chaste, even as detail-less as it is.
A note on rereading: I'm rereading this to see if the social norms around sex, marriage, and family show up earlier than book ten. This book has a couple of scenes where sex is referenced in kind of modern ways. Things like a group of robbers being extra gross by considering taking time with a pretty girl. It's also (elsewhere) implied that prostitution is a thing. Which doesn't square with the whole soul bonding afterglow of sex that we get in those later books. So yeah. It's looking like the author probably invented those social constructs after the fact. Probably.
April 2, 2023
Probably the closest thing I've ever read to a Japanese light novel written in the west. That has its good and bad sides, but overall I enjoyed this.
Tala is a young lady with a plan to get out from under crippling debt: she's going to become a recognised Mage without the lengthy apprenticeship process. Mage pays a lot better than mageling. She then proceeds to succeed in her ludicrous plan (at least so far) because she:
1. Is stupidly over-powered.
2. Has the common sense of a desk chair.
3. Is stupidly lucky.
Unrelated to her success is that she's probably very attractive but doesn't think she is, and she's been a loner much of her life after her parents sold her to clear their debts. Tala is so much of an OP wish-fulfilment light novel protagonist, she might as well have it inscribed on her forehead.
However, Tala's antics and interactions with those around her are amusing. There are several points where I want to scream at her for being so utterly stupid, and scream at the author for letting her get away with it with no consequences, but mostly it's all good fun.
The worldbuilding is interesting. The setting is sort of post-apocalypse without the apocalypse. Humanity survives by building cities which protect themselves by absorbing all the magic in the area to use for defences. The world then reacts to that, increasing the magic around the city, creating worse and worse monsters, and wearing the cities down until they are destroyed. I'm not totally convinced about the layout of these cities, but it makes for a good setting.
All in all, I'll very likely be picking up the next volume of Tala's adventures, though I do hope it's not just 'Tala goes back the way she came.'
Tala is a young lady with a plan to get out from under crippling debt: she's going to become a recognised Mage without the lengthy apprenticeship process. Mage pays a lot better than mageling. She then proceeds to succeed in her ludicrous plan (at least so far) because she:
1. Is stupidly over-powered.
2. Has the common sense of a desk chair.
3. Is stupidly lucky.
Unrelated to her success is that she's probably very attractive but doesn't think she is, and she's been a loner much of her life after her parents sold her to clear their debts. Tala is so much of an OP wish-fulfilment light novel protagonist, she might as well have it inscribed on her forehead.
However, Tala's antics and interactions with those around her are amusing. There are several points where I want to scream at her for being so utterly stupid, and scream at the author for letting her get away with it with no consequences, but mostly it's all good fun.
The worldbuilding is interesting. The setting is sort of post-apocalypse without the apocalypse. Humanity survives by building cities which protect themselves by absorbing all the magic in the area to use for defences. The world then reacts to that, increasing the magic around the city, creating worse and worse monsters, and wearing the cities down until they are destroyed. I'm not totally convinced about the layout of these cities, but it makes for a good setting.
All in all, I'll very likely be picking up the next volume of Tala's adventures, though I do hope it's not just 'Tala goes back the way she came.'
June 22, 2023
Read for SPFBO, this is only my personal opinion, group verdict might differ widely! 💥
Mageling by J.L. Mullins will not appeal to everyone, but it decidedly was a book for me!
It's progression type fantasy, so there's a lot of detailed world building, very deeply described magic system and plenty of trying to get better at things. I personally enjoy those deep dives, learning all about how different magics work and discovering all the big and little things.
If you're looking for a fast pace, plenty of plot or such though, this book will not work for you.
What really rounded this up for me, was the tone and voice of the main character. Sometimes she's infuriatingly lucky, and often she's way too sure of herself, but she's also so very matter of fact, nice and straightforward, I often had to smile. So she quickly grew on me!
I'll definitely continue the series.
Mageling by J.L. Mullins will not appeal to everyone, but it decidedly was a book for me!
It's progression type fantasy, so there's a lot of detailed world building, very deeply described magic system and plenty of trying to get better at things. I personally enjoy those deep dives, learning all about how different magics work and discovering all the big and little things.
If you're looking for a fast pace, plenty of plot or such though, this book will not work for you.
What really rounded this up for me, was the tone and voice of the main character. Sometimes she's infuriatingly lucky, and often she's way too sure of herself, but she's also so very matter of fact, nice and straightforward, I often had to smile. So she quickly grew on me!
I'll definitely continue the series.
July 19, 2024
Update - Series review = top 100 fatnasy series (female lead) all time.
Low-Key masterpiece. It's a work that gets better and better as the author gains mroe talent in plotting and starts leaning in on showing. And it's it's stride early enough for you to really get invested. Emotional beats are solid. She's poor beats are good. I think a lot of people who grow up (real middle class) don't understand the quite things people do to save money. That actually puts them at risk. How you trade risk for money you don't really have. And it's capture well here and how it helps you suceeded and how it bites you in the ass. Just overall good job. MC is hardhead but not hardheaded at the same time. You see her thinking out things and attempting to learn from her mistakes. She's flawed, in the best kind of ways like Japenese Kintsugi, the brokenness and the healing make the pot with all those cracks more beautiful. And the best Kintsugi comes from an item well love that you save and repair.
***
second Review of first book.
I didn't give this first book as much credit as I should have. I had to remember what soul crushing debt and college was like. What simple meal was and feeding yourself. Getting a job and keeping it and not F'n up so your even more in the hole. I really Really............ didn't give this book enough credit because the first 10k was sucha mess for my mind to read. I'd have rather they slowed it down and put more mini events before the carvan then what I got. Just turn me off. But it was a good first book overall.
***
orignal single book review:
The start is kinda confusing. Almost like a book that I should have read before this one. It has a lot of unproven world building and telling in an unfun way. But has a punchline moment that's interesting.
It isn't until you get at least 7 hours in you start to get her road trip. She stops babbling about magic and power and left. The author starts SHOWING you it. where it gets interesting. Frankly, I wish the person who wrote this would have rewrote the book. That start is so DNF rough that a person who normally doesn't DNF anything thought about DNF this whole seires. Had I not known there was a BUNCH of books. I'd not have kept reading.
overall..... interesting. 4.1
Low-Key masterpiece. It's a work that gets better and better as the author gains mroe talent in plotting and starts leaning in on showing. And it's it's stride early enough for you to really get invested. Emotional beats are solid. She's poor beats are good. I think a lot of people who grow up (real middle class) don't understand the quite things people do to save money. That actually puts them at risk. How you trade risk for money you don't really have. And it's capture well here and how it helps you suceeded and how it bites you in the ass. Just overall good job. MC is hardhead but not hardheaded at the same time. You see her thinking out things and attempting to learn from her mistakes. She's flawed, in the best kind of ways like Japenese Kintsugi, the brokenness and the healing make the pot with all those cracks more beautiful. And the best Kintsugi comes from an item well love that you save and repair.
***
second Review of first book.
I didn't give this first book as much credit as I should have. I had to remember what soul crushing debt and college was like. What simple meal was and feeding yourself. Getting a job and keeping it and not F'n up so your even more in the hole. I really Really............ didn't give this book enough credit because the first 10k was sucha mess for my mind to read. I'd have rather they slowed it down and put more mini events before the carvan then what I got. Just turn me off. But it was a good first book overall.
***
orignal single book review:
The start is kinda confusing. Almost like a book that I should have read before this one. It has a lot of unproven world building and telling in an unfun way. But has a punchline moment that's interesting.
It isn't until you get at least 7 hours in you start to get her road trip. She stops babbling about magic and power and left. The author starts SHOWING you it. where it gets interesting. Frankly, I wish the person who wrote this would have rewrote the book. That start is so DNF rough that a person who normally doesn't DNF anything thought about DNF this whole seires. Had I not known there was a BUNCH of books. I'd not have kept reading.
overall..... interesting. 4.1
September 19, 2024
I suspect some people will struggle with this novel, since it focuses so heavily on the protagonist's power-progression and the magic system. I happen to like both things, particularly when the magic is systematic and has limits. But you'll need to suspend any curiosity about the wider world, and forget about plot arcs in book one.
The start is abrupt. In fact, I had to double-check that I hadn't picked up book two. Before long the reader is mostly caught up on how Tala got to the teleport circle. Although large gaps do still exist.
My main complaint about the book is that Tala's gambles always pay off. I've seen my share of nat-20 rolls, but never ten in a row. If you can get over the plot-armor, and the narrow focus, there's a nice story here.
The start is abrupt. In fact, I had to double-check that I hadn't picked up book two. Before long the reader is mostly caught up on how Tala got to the teleport circle. Although large gaps do still exist.
My main complaint about the book is that Tala's gambles always pay off. I've seen my share of nat-20 rolls, but never ten in a row. If you can get over the plot-armor, and the narrow focus, there's a nice story here.
July 11, 2024
Slow start, but still good
This book had the double duty of explaining a whole new magic system, while also explaining how our MC differed from the norm.
This added to confusion about certain aspects, because neither of us could know enough to know it's wrong.
Lots of world building, I'll be excited to see where it goes.
This book had the double duty of explaining a whole new magic system, while also explaining how our MC differed from the norm.
This added to confusion about certain aspects, because neither of us could know enough to know it's wrong.
Lots of world building, I'll be excited to see where it goes.
April 10, 2023
cool world building
I really liked this book. It started a little slow due to the world set up, but kept moving and developing quickly after that. MC was a bit immature, but it w@s understandable in context. Recommend!
I really liked this book. It started a little slow due to the world set up, but kept moving and developing quickly after that. MC was a bit immature, but it w@s understandable in context. Recommend!
Read
May 22, 2024This was a thoroughly enjoyable read. A pleasant journey filled with innocent mistakes and joyful learning. The author has a deft feel for pacing and has created a wonderful and rich world of magic. The characters are interesting and believable. A fun read and worth the time.
April 13, 2023
Lacking a direction.
The setting and social structure are complex and not described well. The main character is a child who blunders about without any direction. The idea is intriguing but lacks any real king of story.
The setting and social structure are complex and not described well. The main character is a child who blunders about without any direction. The idea is intriguing but lacks any real king of story.
February 4, 2024
It is not a badly written book nor its offensive, controversial or disgusting. Quite the contrary. I would say, for the genre, is one of the most unobjectionable and direct stories you can get.
So why the 1 star and 40% completed? Because, simply, I had read in my life other stories about:
* a girl trying to pay a debt
*a magician growing in power
*an overpowered MC who is not bright
a sassy girl who is really nice and gives you the patented smirk.
* a noble (or of a higher social strata that everyone else) who is humble and call me by the name
* Joss Whedon banter.
*a soft post-apocalyptic with magitek.
If you have read any fantasy novel that covers any of these plot points, this book is not for you.
If I had to describe it succinctly, I would say that this book is to progress magic female rebel stories what the 4th face is to the MCU. This is a set of checklists scrupulous played in a story from point A to point B to become the most generic plot you can get in this genre or honestly, in the genre of YA post-apocalyptic with magic. It's like a clone of a clone of a clone of the Hunger Games but with no stakes and no romance (as far as I had seen on the reviews of the next books).
What it is, and I would give it quite the credit, is that it's a very well-done world-building. It had an interesting setting, a very well-thought-out magical system, and really got into the economics and cultural differences that exist between city-states that are divided by the badlands.
If this was a tabletop RPG with minimal microfiction, this would be 5 stars (as far as I read). And you can feel the author's excitement in exploring their world and its minutiae.
The issue is that for it to be released/read/bought, they splashed the most non-entity character they could get, and since creating conflict take a lot of effort (and I think they confused cozy fantasy with no stakes fantasy) both in the planning, staging and the continuity with the story, all obstacles are resolved in less than a chapter if they are not just given to the MC because she is a black hole of charisma and wonder. No battle is thought, no problem is hard and they other characters twist backward to make sure she had the most expedited time from point A to B. As for the setting and its wonders, the author created a Frankenstein of a very well-educated yet unbelievably ignorant and no impulse control protagonist who know everything and nothing at the same time, so we can get a monologue every single chapter from her or from people explaining the world.
The story says she is in deep debt, that she needs her wits to survive as a mage fresh out of the academy, that she is becoming an "interesting" subject for the powers that be and so on. In truth, she starts with cheats codes of infinite money, infinite friends, infinite time, no damage.
If you want to give this as an easy read for a first timer in the fantasy progression or overpowered female protagonist from the apocalypse, with a very sanitized writing, this is the book for you
If you want to read some very well developed worldbuilding and magical economics that are not too outhere for ideas for your won story, this is the book for you.
if you are looking for an entertaining story, a plot or character progression that actually has stakes on them, then give this series a hard pass.
So why the 1 star and 40% completed? Because, simply, I had read in my life other stories about:
* a girl trying to pay a debt
*a magician growing in power
*an overpowered MC who is not bright
a sassy girl who is really nice and gives you the patented smirk.
* a noble (or of a higher social strata that everyone else) who is humble and call me by the name
* Joss Whedon banter.
*a soft post-apocalyptic with magitek.
If you have read any fantasy novel that covers any of these plot points, this book is not for you.
If I had to describe it succinctly, I would say that this book is to progress magic female rebel stories what the 4th face is to the MCU. This is a set of checklists scrupulous played in a story from point A to point B to become the most generic plot you can get in this genre or honestly, in the genre of YA post-apocalyptic with magic. It's like a clone of a clone of a clone of the Hunger Games but with no stakes and no romance (as far as I had seen on the reviews of the next books).
What it is, and I would give it quite the credit, is that it's a very well-done world-building. It had an interesting setting, a very well-thought-out magical system, and really got into the economics and cultural differences that exist between city-states that are divided by the badlands.
If this was a tabletop RPG with minimal microfiction, this would be 5 stars (as far as I read). And you can feel the author's excitement in exploring their world and its minutiae.
The issue is that for it to be released/read/bought, they splashed the most non-entity character they could get, and since creating conflict take a lot of effort (and I think they confused cozy fantasy with no stakes fantasy) both in the planning, staging and the continuity with the story, all obstacles are resolved in less than a chapter if they are not just given to the MC because she is a black hole of charisma and wonder. No battle is thought, no problem is hard and they other characters twist backward to make sure she had the most expedited time from point A to B. As for the setting and its wonders, the author created a Frankenstein of a very well-educated yet unbelievably ignorant and no impulse control protagonist who know everything and nothing at the same time, so we can get a monologue every single chapter from her or from people explaining the world.
The story says she is in deep debt, that she needs her wits to survive as a mage fresh out of the academy, that she is becoming an "interesting" subject for the powers that be and so on. In truth, she starts with cheats codes of infinite money, infinite friends, infinite time, no damage.
If you want to give this as an easy read for a first timer in the fantasy progression or overpowered female protagonist from the apocalypse, with a very sanitized writing, this is the book for you
If you want to read some very well developed worldbuilding and magical economics that are not too outhere for ideas for your won story, this is the book for you.
if you are looking for an entertaining story, a plot or character progression that actually has stakes on them, then give this series a hard pass.
May 21, 2023
A fully realised world
I basically picked this book out of a hat. Out of the several series I’m currently reading there were no new books out so I picked one at random from my lengthy wish list where I stick anything interesting that Amazon recommends to me. This was the result and I hit the jackpot.
The world in this book is very intriguing: humanity lives in isolated cities protected by enchantments that have a limited shelf life meaning a constant cycle of new cities being build then abandoned a few generations later after it has progressed through pre determined cycles. The wilds between these cities have no roads and most never step foot in them as they are steeped in dangerous magic and creatures. This almost sounds dystopian but does not have the grim tone of that. There is a light buoyancy to this writing that makes this fun to read though that’s not to say there are not serious moments. Quite how the world got this way, whether it always was isn’t really known but is alluded to and clearly will be explored and I’m very interested to find out.
The magic system in this book is also very interesting. Humans effectively have magic tattoos in the form of ‘spell lines’ made of precious metals imbued into their skin. These lines are burned through to shape magic and must be redone by experts in the field — and at a substantial cost. The different disciplines of material and immaterial mages and the intricacy of how the spell lines relate to spell craft is very well thought out and fascinating.
There is also a lot of life to the writing. Many books that have an intriguing world and systems fall flat in terms of character but that is not the case here. Each character feels rich and well realised and there were a few bits where I even laughed out loud. The dialog is sharp and witty and I really loved a few of the characters (including the MC) by the end.
Overall I’m so impressed by this book. I will say there are not no flaws; this book doesn’t hold your hand but maybe strays a little too far into that. The different guilds are tossed out there but never fully explained what they do outside of the caravaners that the MC joins and there were a few bits where I had to reread a section because something wasn’t explained in enough detail. There’s something to be said for not exposition dumping everything and having the reader discover things alongside the character but it leaned a bit much in that direction at times (though not often and not to an infuriating degree so a minor flaw).
I rate for how much I enjoy a book though and this was 5 stars worth of enjoyment without question.
I basically picked this book out of a hat. Out of the several series I’m currently reading there were no new books out so I picked one at random from my lengthy wish list where I stick anything interesting that Amazon recommends to me. This was the result and I hit the jackpot.
The world in this book is very intriguing: humanity lives in isolated cities protected by enchantments that have a limited shelf life meaning a constant cycle of new cities being build then abandoned a few generations later after it has progressed through pre determined cycles. The wilds between these cities have no roads and most never step foot in them as they are steeped in dangerous magic and creatures. This almost sounds dystopian but does not have the grim tone of that. There is a light buoyancy to this writing that makes this fun to read though that’s not to say there are not serious moments. Quite how the world got this way, whether it always was isn’t really known but is alluded to and clearly will be explored and I’m very interested to find out.
The magic system in this book is also very interesting. Humans effectively have magic tattoos in the form of ‘spell lines’ made of precious metals imbued into their skin. These lines are burned through to shape magic and must be redone by experts in the field — and at a substantial cost. The different disciplines of material and immaterial mages and the intricacy of how the spell lines relate to spell craft is very well thought out and fascinating.
There is also a lot of life to the writing. Many books that have an intriguing world and systems fall flat in terms of character but that is not the case here. Each character feels rich and well realised and there were a few bits where I even laughed out loud. The dialog is sharp and witty and I really loved a few of the characters (including the MC) by the end.
Overall I’m so impressed by this book. I will say there are not no flaws; this book doesn’t hold your hand but maybe strays a little too far into that. The different guilds are tossed out there but never fully explained what they do outside of the caravaners that the MC joins and there were a few bits where I had to reread a section because something wasn’t explained in enough detail. There’s something to be said for not exposition dumping everything and having the reader discover things alongside the character but it leaned a bit much in that direction at times (though not often and not to an infuriating degree so a minor flaw).
I rate for how much I enjoy a book though and this was 5 stars worth of enjoyment without question.
October 8, 2025
These are some overall notes for the series (currently on book 8, Ironbound)
a mix of slice-of-life and progression fantasy. some xianxia / cultivation themes.
A female protagonist who reminds me of the protagonists in [[azaranth healer]], and [[a practical guide to sorcery]].
+ Good writing style/prose.
+ Decent dialogue and depth of side-characters.
+ Interesting world/setting
- The pacing isn't always ideal, as the author often (especially in later books) gets bogged down in excessive and unnecessary details around the mechanics of magic and other things that don't add tension. It reminds me of the [[Nightlord series by Garon Whited]]. I wonder if this need to over-explain is more common in male authors.
- There are SO MANY missed opportunities for other characters' perspectives. Several times, the author set up a beautiful stage for [[dramatic irony]], if he'd only let us look through another character's perspective and see the misunderstandings that the protagonist was creating. Unfortunately, he missed most of these opportunities, and when they were taken, they weren't explored as deeply as I felt they could have been.
+ The author somewhat makes up for the above negatives in book 7, Eskau - which I found to be by far the most enjoyable book so far.
- The character relationships are generally not that interesting. There's not enough tension or reason to really invest in them for the first 6 books. Very little romance so far (perhaps the male author felt awkward writing romance from a female character's perspective?)
+ the promise made in the epilogue (Kit's perspective) at the end of book 2(?) created some great tension and had me wanting to read on to find out what would happen.
- That promise wasn't fulfilled in book 3, and has barely been touched on since. The tension of wanting to find out what would happen was one of the few things that kept me reading till book 7. The author blew up a [[tension balloon]] that I was looking forward to being popped, but it has been slowly leaking, and barely has any air left in it at this point (book 8).
I'd point people to [[a practical guide to sorcery]] as an example of a very similar book (progression fantasy, female protagonist), but which excels at [[dramatic irony]] and [[interpersonal tension]] (i.e. has more interesting relationships between characters).
a mix of slice-of-life and progression fantasy. some xianxia / cultivation themes.
A female protagonist who reminds me of the protagonists in [[azaranth healer]], and [[a practical guide to sorcery]].
+ Good writing style/prose.
+ Decent dialogue and depth of side-characters.
+ Interesting world/setting
- The pacing isn't always ideal, as the author often (especially in later books) gets bogged down in excessive and unnecessary details around the mechanics of magic and other things that don't add tension. It reminds me of the [[Nightlord series by Garon Whited]]. I wonder if this need to over-explain is more common in male authors.
- There are SO MANY missed opportunities for other characters' perspectives. Several times, the author set up a beautiful stage for [[dramatic irony]], if he'd only let us look through another character's perspective and see the misunderstandings that the protagonist was creating. Unfortunately, he missed most of these opportunities, and when they were taken, they weren't explored as deeply as I felt they could have been.
+ The author somewhat makes up for the above negatives in book 7, Eskau - which I found to be by far the most enjoyable book so far.
- The character relationships are generally not that interesting. There's not enough tension or reason to really invest in them for the first 6 books. Very little romance so far (perhaps the male author felt awkward writing romance from a female character's perspective?)
+ the promise made in the epilogue (Kit's perspective) at the end of book 2(?) created some great tension and had me wanting to read on to find out what would happen.
- That promise wasn't fulfilled in book 3, and has barely been touched on since. The tension of wanting to find out what would happen was one of the few things that kept me reading till book 7. The author blew up a [[tension balloon]] that I was looking forward to being popped, but it has been slowly leaking, and barely has any air left in it at this point (book 8).
I'd point people to [[a practical guide to sorcery]] as an example of a very similar book (progression fantasy, female protagonist), but which excels at [[dramatic irony]] and [[interpersonal tension]] (i.e. has more interesting relationships between characters).
June 24, 2023
4.5 - Star
The Mageling was my 11th SPFBO-9 read. This was my first exposure to author J.L. Mullins. As I was sifting through the hundreds of entries to the competition the cover for this one stood out to me. The story sounded interesting as well so I added it to my list.
This was a refreshing read after a very recent emotionally draining book. The Mageling was certainly more light hearted in comparison which was something I think I needed at that moment. All in all this was an entertaining read. I found Tala easy to connect to, mostly due to her drive and her overly abundant curiosity! She certainly stumbled into powers she didn't understand many times and then afterward other more seasoned mages often informed her of what she was doing. At the same time those seasoned mages often didn't quite understand how Tala was learning these things without an actual instructor. I loved that relationship between Tala and the others.
As the majority of this was an audio listen the pacing was smooth. I didn't have many issues keeping track of things or have any issues with the narration by Tess Irondale. In fact I had strong vibes of Suzy Jackson and the Skyward series. I found myself numerous times feeling this store was similar but on a more fantasy level versus that being science fiction.
The world building was good as well. We had a good mix of learning about different regions and cultures. Another favorite part of Mageling was the interesting magic and creatures we learn about along the way. One pleasant surprise was I had fearing this may spend too much time at a mage school feeling like some other very popular books. But Tala embarks on a journey of exploration and adventure fairly quickly which was nice to see.
The character development was another strong aspect. I've already mentioned how much I enjoyed Tala but we meet some rather interesting characters along the way as well. I liked some of the subtle reveals with some character as well. Love books with characters and other things that aren't always as they first appear.
Mageling did have a bit of a young adult feel from time to time. However, I'm not sure I would put it into that category where an older reader may not enjoy it. All in all I did enjoy this one and plan to continue the series in time.
As for my recommendation, I'd go with readers who enjoy a good light hearted fantasy with some interesting creatures and magic.
The Mageling was my 11th SPFBO-9 read. This was my first exposure to author J.L. Mullins. As I was sifting through the hundreds of entries to the competition the cover for this one stood out to me. The story sounded interesting as well so I added it to my list.
This was a refreshing read after a very recent emotionally draining book. The Mageling was certainly more light hearted in comparison which was something I think I needed at that moment. All in all this was an entertaining read. I found Tala easy to connect to, mostly due to her drive and her overly abundant curiosity! She certainly stumbled into powers she didn't understand many times and then afterward other more seasoned mages often informed her of what she was doing. At the same time those seasoned mages often didn't quite understand how Tala was learning these things without an actual instructor. I loved that relationship between Tala and the others.
As the majority of this was an audio listen the pacing was smooth. I didn't have many issues keeping track of things or have any issues with the narration by Tess Irondale. In fact I had strong vibes of Suzy Jackson and the Skyward series. I found myself numerous times feeling this store was similar but on a more fantasy level versus that being science fiction.
The world building was good as well. We had a good mix of learning about different regions and cultures. Another favorite part of Mageling was the interesting magic and creatures we learn about along the way. One pleasant surprise was I had fearing this may spend too much time at a mage school feeling like some other very popular books. But Tala embarks on a journey of exploration and adventure fairly quickly which was nice to see.
The character development was another strong aspect. I've already mentioned how much I enjoyed Tala but we meet some rather interesting characters along the way as well. I liked some of the subtle reveals with some character as well. Love books with characters and other things that aren't always as they first appear.
Mageling did have a bit of a young adult feel from time to time. However, I'm not sure I would put it into that category where an older reader may not enjoy it. All in all I did enjoy this one and plan to continue the series in time.
As for my recommendation, I'd go with readers who enjoy a good light hearted fantasy with some interesting creatures and magic.
July 11, 2025
This book felt like someone put a movie on and I didn't see the beginning. It felt like I was thrown in to this book, 20 minutes into the movie with no explanation from the author as to why. The first quarter of the book I felt like I was constantly scrambling to figure out what the hell was going on as there were loads of new terms and names for things that the author, I'm guessing on purpose, expected people to figure out as they go because they sure as hell didn't explain anything except for in small info dumps when Tala asks one of the "Actual Mages" about something basic that she should've already known if she really were a "Mage" like she wants everyone to believe. Speaking of our MC Tala, I'm not sure how to feel about her. She seems nice enough and determined to get what she wants but also quite childish, ignorant (doesn't think things through) and stubborn to the point she puts others in danger for her own personal gain. Her childishness is quite cute at times in the slice of life sections but can be a little jarring at others. I also got some Isekai wish fulfillment vibes from this book. Without any explanation, again, Tala seems to be able to do things other mages can't. Its frustrating but if I had to call it something, maybe MC plot armour. There's no reason given or even implied to as to why she's able to do stuff mages 10 years her senior can't do. Also the other reason I get Isekai vibes is because Tala is always coming up with new ways of doing things and every time its along the lines of "You can't do that." "That's impossible." "I've never thought of trying that. I wonder if it would really work.". Also, so far, none of Tala's plans have failed. It just seems like some sort of MC plot armour again. All this being said however, besides maybe the first quarter to half this book, I found this book thoroughly enjoyable and am already diving into book 2.
Read
March 11, 2024This is not a full review. I read through the beginning of all 300 SPFBO9 contest entries. This was a book I wanted to read more of.
A young mage teleportation does not exactly go as planned. Barely clad mages, spell-lines, and interesting magical details from page … well, page 2.
It’s always a tough sell when a novel starts and I am confused. What do these sentences mean? Where are we? Who is this about? I know we all want a splashy opening, but orient me in the story.
The problem with this opening is the order of information. I just read what should be the opening paragraph. It’s a great, dry, beginning that clearly tells me what’s going on.
This author is talented, they just bobbled their opening. Once the narrative settles into itself, it’s engaging. It’s a slow start, story-wise. All we know is our mage MC has teleported in.
In where? I’m not sure. Why and to what purpose? We don’t know yet. But being dropped into things can be an appealing way to start. And the magical details here are engaging.
The prose is fairly competent. The dialogue has good pacing. And the idea of spell-lines drawn(tattooed?) onto mages to give them power is interesting. I can tell the author has put time and effort into developing their unique approach to magic in this story.
Other elements of this YA-ish fantasy may be only light - some guards are quintessentially generic, & I have some qualms about mages blushing when they see a naked woman even though all our mages, male and female, are as little clad as possible all if the time.
But this feels like it has a good central character who is headstrong despite the rigorous conformism of her order, and the magical details have given me just enough to want to keep reading. I’m in.
A young mage teleportation does not exactly go as planned. Barely clad mages, spell-lines, and interesting magical details from page … well, page 2.
It’s always a tough sell when a novel starts and I am confused. What do these sentences mean? Where are we? Who is this about? I know we all want a splashy opening, but orient me in the story.
The problem with this opening is the order of information. I just read what should be the opening paragraph. It’s a great, dry, beginning that clearly tells me what’s going on.
This author is talented, they just bobbled their opening. Once the narrative settles into itself, it’s engaging. It’s a slow start, story-wise. All we know is our mage MC has teleported in.
In where? I’m not sure. Why and to what purpose? We don’t know yet. But being dropped into things can be an appealing way to start. And the magical details here are engaging.
The prose is fairly competent. The dialogue has good pacing. And the idea of spell-lines drawn(tattooed?) onto mages to give them power is interesting. I can tell the author has put time and effort into developing their unique approach to magic in this story.
Other elements of this YA-ish fantasy may be only light - some guards are quintessentially generic, & I have some qualms about mages blushing when they see a naked woman even though all our mages, male and female, are as little clad as possible all if the time.
But this feels like it has a good central character who is headstrong despite the rigorous conformism of her order, and the magical details have given me just enough to want to keep reading. I’m in.
May 10, 2023
Interesting characters and well-developed magic system.
Excellent world building. The main character is a bit overpowered for her time as a mage, but that is explained as her taking ridiculous risks, often out of ignorance of how dangerous what she’s doing really is. And the others around her respond appropriately- some are impressed by her development, some are horrified at her disregard for safety, and some of the oldest are amused and looking forward to see how it all turns out. No one treats her as a prodigy, or some prophesied hero, which is sadly common in the genre.
The details of the world and the magic system are intricate, consistent, and well explained through incremental revelations rather than data dumps or some contrived overheard conversation. Tala is surprisingly ignorant about the broader magical world, but the deficiencies in the Academy are explained later in the story. She becomes more powerful through simple work: finding and reading books, engaging formal trainers, and attempting (and surviving) some interesting experiments. And everything she learns helps to explain how this world’s magic functions. She also develops as a person slowly and through struggle.
(I am a bit of a nerd for magic systems, I’ve been a tabletop gamer for more than 40 years, playing dozens of games with totally different systems, and have followed the work of Brandon Sanderson since he was posting chapters on his website simply because I liked his ability to invent excellent magic systems. His early _characters_ could be fairly meh.)
Excellent world building. The main character is a bit overpowered for her time as a mage, but that is explained as her taking ridiculous risks, often out of ignorance of how dangerous what she’s doing really is. And the others around her respond appropriately- some are impressed by her development, some are horrified at her disregard for safety, and some of the oldest are amused and looking forward to see how it all turns out. No one treats her as a prodigy, or some prophesied hero, which is sadly common in the genre.
The details of the world and the magic system are intricate, consistent, and well explained through incremental revelations rather than data dumps or some contrived overheard conversation. Tala is surprisingly ignorant about the broader magical world, but the deficiencies in the Academy are explained later in the story. She becomes more powerful through simple work: finding and reading books, engaging formal trainers, and attempting (and surviving) some interesting experiments. And everything she learns helps to explain how this world’s magic functions. She also develops as a person slowly and through struggle.
(I am a bit of a nerd for magic systems, I’ve been a tabletop gamer for more than 40 years, playing dozens of games with totally different systems, and have followed the work of Brandon Sanderson since he was posting chapters on his website simply because I liked his ability to invent excellent magic systems. His early _characters_ could be fairly meh.)
June 24, 2024
3.5 stars
The only reason this is not getting 4 stars from me is because some areas are not very clear, and it was sometimes hard to keep up with. For instance, I don't think a description of the main character was ever made so I really had no idea what she even looked like. Some of the more scientific stuff got a bit confusing for me. Also I felt like there was a book missing because a lot of things they didn't explain the backstory and it felt like you were jumping into the middle of a story. I was very lost the first couple of chapters. Because of things like this it's why it didn't earn 4 stars from me. But the storyline is really great! I don't think I have ever read a story quite like this, definitely something new for me. I think I read a review where someone described it as an anime like book. Pretty spot on actually. It really does give the vibes of what an anime would give you but in book form. I really enjoyed the storyline, all the characters and the writing. It was really addicting, I read the first 6 books in a few days. I have paused in reading the 7th book because the 8th book doesn't come out until October!
If you like fantasy, magic, people continuing to get stronger and mainly slice of life (which is part of the title name on Amazon) I would definitely check this book out!
The only reason this is not getting 4 stars from me is because some areas are not very clear, and it was sometimes hard to keep up with. For instance, I don't think a description of the main character was ever made so I really had no idea what she even looked like. Some of the more scientific stuff got a bit confusing for me. Also I felt like there was a book missing because a lot of things they didn't explain the backstory and it felt like you were jumping into the middle of a story. I was very lost the first couple of chapters. Because of things like this it's why it didn't earn 4 stars from me. But the storyline is really great! I don't think I have ever read a story quite like this, definitely something new for me. I think I read a review where someone described it as an anime like book. Pretty spot on actually. It really does give the vibes of what an anime would give you but in book form. I really enjoyed the storyline, all the characters and the writing. It was really addicting, I read the first 6 books in a few days. I have paused in reading the 7th book because the 8th book doesn't come out until October!
If you like fantasy, magic, people continuing to get stronger and mainly slice of life (which is part of the title name on Amazon) I would definitely check this book out!
July 22, 2024
While the rating for this particular book is 4 stars, I'm a little torn over whether or not I'd recommend the series. I've read the third book and I don't think I'll be continuing the series.
The main reason is that the main character Tala is getting progressively annoying, mostly because her meaningful (be that character defining or plot driving) choices do not make sense and also her defining character traits at this point are: she drinks coffee, eats insane amounts of food, and she's stubborn and impatient.
The coffee thing specifically is making me irrationally annoyed. Like, one of the first things we learn about her very early on is that she is in massive debt because her father was addicted to opium. The whole thing has deeply traumatised her and shaped her entire life. And then she tastes coffee once, something she know is very expensive in this world, and willingly developes a full on addiction to it. As in drinking gallons and gallons of the stuff daily.
And worse, instead of using that as an opportunity for internal conflict, self reflection and character growth, it's just this haha funny quirky thing she does, nothing more to it.
Anyway, the world is fine, if not very fleshed out up until where I'm at, the characters are fine, and the magic system is mostly fine. Maybe you'll like it. It's certainly not bad. But I'm starting to lose interest.
The main reason is that the main character Tala is getting progressively annoying, mostly because her meaningful (be that character defining or plot driving) choices do not make sense and also her defining character traits at this point are: she drinks coffee, eats insane amounts of food, and she's stubborn and impatient.
The coffee thing specifically is making me irrationally annoyed. Like, one of the first things we learn about her very early on is that she is in massive debt because her father was addicted to opium. The whole thing has deeply traumatised her and shaped her entire life. And then she tastes coffee once, something she know is very expensive in this world, and willingly developes a full on addiction to it. As in drinking gallons and gallons of the stuff daily.
And worse, instead of using that as an opportunity for internal conflict, self reflection and character growth, it's just this haha funny quirky thing she does, nothing more to it.
Anyway, the world is fine, if not very fleshed out up until where I'm at, the characters are fine, and the magic system is mostly fine. Maybe you'll like it. It's certainly not bad. But I'm starting to lose interest.
May 3, 2025
Good story, complex
I’m not going to tell you the plot, but here is my experience reading it for the first time.
This book has a lot of explanations, which at first seemed to be a lot of busywork, yet actually they add to the complexity and depth of the world building. Still, you aren’t being spoon fed anything. This isn’t like a lot of books where you have pages of the main character reflecting on their background or history of where they are. You are given snippets and have to intuit a lot, and later you might get confirmation of your guess, and other times you are left wanting to know more. Other sections you have oodles of reading what the main character is thinking, as they figure things out. It’s done really well, like getting to experience not only the action but the inner life of one person.
In some ways, this author is reminiscent of L.E. Modesitt, Jr. (Recluse series), except without the onomatopoeia sound effects. Not what I would consider an action-packed tale, but not too slow. More cerebral but not in a smug or condescending way. I really enjoyed this. I got to ‘borrow’ this book for free from Prime Reading, and plan to purchase not only this first volume but the others in the series. Good enough that I expect to re-read and want it in my permanent library.
I’m not going to tell you the plot, but here is my experience reading it for the first time.
This book has a lot of explanations, which at first seemed to be a lot of busywork, yet actually they add to the complexity and depth of the world building. Still, you aren’t being spoon fed anything. This isn’t like a lot of books where you have pages of the main character reflecting on their background or history of where they are. You are given snippets and have to intuit a lot, and later you might get confirmation of your guess, and other times you are left wanting to know more. Other sections you have oodles of reading what the main character is thinking, as they figure things out. It’s done really well, like getting to experience not only the action but the inner life of one person.
In some ways, this author is reminiscent of L.E. Modesitt, Jr. (Recluse series), except without the onomatopoeia sound effects. Not what I would consider an action-packed tale, but not too slow. More cerebral but not in a smug or condescending way. I really enjoyed this. I got to ‘borrow’ this book for free from Prime Reading, and plan to purchase not only this first volume but the others in the series. Good enough that I expect to re-read and want it in my permanent library.
January 8, 2024
Nice and easy to read. I quickly found myself immersed in the "complex" world of this universe, which has a post-apocalytic aftertaste.
It's pure fantasy (even if it was suggested to me because I've been reading LitRPG/Wuxia for several years now?) and in that respect it fits the bill.
The magic system seems a bit nebulous to me. People master their magic with a "Gate" that serves as a kind of generator, and then visualize and apply it through inscriptions tattooed on their bodies. Casting a spell therefore consumes a mixture of the person's magic, and the inscriptions they have... But there are also "rings" that serve as a reservoir of materials?
I love Brandon Sanderson because his magic is so square. Here I'm drawing a parallel with Misborn because it lacks that precision which makes the explanation hazardous and makes me doubt my own knowledge.
Tala is a (pretty? obviously) young woman who is going to take a series of risks, always ill-considered but which could pay off, in order to get by in a life that hasn't got off to a very good start. Her naiveté/luckiness/author's hand remains acceptable, but won't always make her shine for her intelligence.
I'm currently on book 3 (which I like a little less) and so far we're on a good 3.5+++ for the serie.
It's pure fantasy (even if it was suggested to me because I've been reading LitRPG/Wuxia for several years now?) and in that respect it fits the bill.
The magic system seems a bit nebulous to me. People master their magic with a "Gate" that serves as a kind of generator, and then visualize and apply it through inscriptions tattooed on their bodies. Casting a spell therefore consumes a mixture of the person's magic, and the inscriptions they have... But there are also "rings" that serve as a reservoir of materials?
I love Brandon Sanderson because his magic is so square. Here I'm drawing a parallel with Misborn because it lacks that precision which makes the explanation hazardous and makes me doubt my own knowledge.
Tala is a (pretty? obviously) young woman who is going to take a series of risks, always ill-considered but which could pay off, in order to get by in a life that hasn't got off to a very good start. Her naiveté/luckiness/author's hand remains acceptable, but won't always make her shine for her intelligence.
I'm currently on book 3 (which I like a little less) and so far we're on a good 3.5+++ for the serie.
April 19, 2023
It's a good book to get into if you're looking for something light and don't mind a slow pace. The book is filled with info dumps and world building and explanations of literally everything. The system itself is a little bit cockeyed and that puts the reader, and therefore the author at a bit of a disadvantage. The setting doesn't help, being low-to-middle magic. The MC is a mage in a world where being a mage is incredibly expensive and not really cost effective compared to just throwing bodies at a problem. Advancement is rare and only doled out a drip of knowledge at a time. Furthermore, the MC's backstory is "my parents sold me into debt slavery so now im working off multiple lifetimes worth of debt." Essentially the author has taken away a lot of the MC's agency by forcing her into an adventure.
All that being said, the world itself has a bit going for it. It's rich, interesting, and deep enough that you can get bogged down in it.
Frankly, this is a good "I'm bored and i want something different to read." 3 stars.
All that being said, the world itself has a bit going for it. It's rich, interesting, and deep enough that you can get bogged down in it.
Frankly, this is a good "I'm bored and i want something different to read." 3 stars.
March 25, 2023
Truly a grand magical adventure
This book was a great read and remained me of the same awe and excitement I found reading some of my first fantasy books as a young person. I’m invested in the characters (not just the main one) and definitely want to know more about the world the author is building. I need sequels, and prequels, and really just everything. The magic, the lore, and the mythos making up this world is fascinating. The author gives a solid, confident, female main character. In fact the first few characters of any depth are all powerful women, which I LOVE. As the story progresses, so to does your interest and admiration of the characters. The main character is young and her decisions are very much demonstrative of that. Despite her apparent youthful (rash) choices, she is kind, respectful, and spends significant time showing empathy. She’s a great character and one well suited for young (and old) adults. I’m looking forward to more books.
This book was a great read and remained me of the same awe and excitement I found reading some of my first fantasy books as a young person. I’m invested in the characters (not just the main one) and definitely want to know more about the world the author is building. I need sequels, and prequels, and really just everything. The magic, the lore, and the mythos making up this world is fascinating. The author gives a solid, confident, female main character. In fact the first few characters of any depth are all powerful women, which I LOVE. As the story progresses, so to does your interest and admiration of the characters. The main character is young and her decisions are very much demonstrative of that. Despite her apparent youthful (rash) choices, she is kind, respectful, and spends significant time showing empathy. She’s a great character and one well suited for young (and old) adults. I’m looking forward to more books.
April 25, 2023
Wonderful Introduction To A Fantastic World
Tala is not like other Mages. Full stop.
She has had her quirks, but rather than the Academy sanding those down to bring her closer to the norm, she seems to have leaned into them becoming (if you would forgive the expression) ever more unique.
A past that few would ask for has made her fiercely independent. Now, having freshly graduated from the Academy (the story opens upon her departure from the Academy proper) she seeks to advance as quickly as possible to put to rest some of the burdens of her past and takes the road, not just less traveled, but one quite possibly never built before her next step lands upon it.
Not knowing what she doesn't know, she takes risks she doesn't know the magnitude of until it is far too late. If only she had listened closer to the advice she gave to the Mageling, her own life might improve....
Tala is not like other Mages. Full stop.
She has had her quirks, but rather than the Academy sanding those down to bring her closer to the norm, she seems to have leaned into them becoming (if you would forgive the expression) ever more unique.
A past that few would ask for has made her fiercely independent. Now, having freshly graduated from the Academy (the story opens upon her departure from the Academy proper) she seeks to advance as quickly as possible to put to rest some of the burdens of her past and takes the road, not just less traveled, but one quite possibly never built before her next step lands upon it.
Not knowing what she doesn't know, she takes risks she doesn't know the magnitude of until it is far too late. If only she had listened closer to the advice she gave to the Mageling, her own life might improve....
April 29, 2023
A feel-good story of growing into power
There's a category of fun cozy story in which an appealing young person, by virtue of a special background or extra amounts of cleverness and curiosity, or generally both, defies everyone's expectations and becomes unprecedentedly powerful in one way or another. This book is the first part of such a story, and I enjoyed it very much.
The worldbuilding is straightforward and interesting, with considerable exposition, but not enough to be annoying. The world feels very much like a Dungeons and Dragons setting, with magic systems and schools and various cities and guilds and known kinds of monsters and so on.
As the setting for a novel it's almost too neat and neatly laid out, and virtually everyone that our protagonist meets is exactly who they need to meet at that moment; I look forward to perhaps a bit of darkness and complication in later volumes.
An enjoyable and comforting read for these dark times.
There's a category of fun cozy story in which an appealing young person, by virtue of a special background or extra amounts of cleverness and curiosity, or generally both, defies everyone's expectations and becomes unprecedentedly powerful in one way or another. This book is the first part of such a story, and I enjoyed it very much.
The worldbuilding is straightforward and interesting, with considerable exposition, but not enough to be annoying. The world feels very much like a Dungeons and Dragons setting, with magic systems and schools and various cities and guilds and known kinds of monsters and so on.
As the setting for a novel it's almost too neat and neatly laid out, and virtually everyone that our protagonist meets is exactly who they need to meet at that moment; I look forward to perhaps a bit of darkness and complication in later volumes.
An enjoyable and comforting read for these dark times.
June 25, 2025
the book is not bad it is terrible, terrible boring. DNF, read only the first 100 pg but in those there is only a description of the magic system(like harry potter describing in 50 pg how to do one spell), there is nothing happening, not even a spell is cast, only a theoretical speech about how it should work. The main character is just bland, someone that just finished magical studies and should be a junior at his craft but considered by every character that she is either dumb or brilliant, my opinion is clear, she arrives naked with no money and with student debts to a new city, trying to land a senior job while having only junior knowledge. If the characters she meets wouldn't go out of their way to help her the book would be finished in 20 pg, instead she is been giving free clothes when she arrives, high paid job even if she doesn't deserve, free food, logging so the plot(which plot?) to progresses.
September 9, 2025
Surprisingly Good
I bought this book, read two chapters and stopped reading it for nearly 2 years. Only came back because I was bored and glad I did. While it didn't click at first for me and felt weird making me think it was going to be some cheap mage girl falls for forbidden other race man, it wasn't that at all.
Now I'm 10 books in and hooked, It isn't fast or some long setup to get somewhere. The plot and story is just slice of life growing in her magic. Every book is really just focused on that book and what she's doing.
For how little happens yet how much she grows, this series I think is great for some and will be very boring for others. I quite liked the characters and interactions, especially with the audible version listening to Tess Irondale narrate this, so for me it was great.
I suggest at least giving the first a try. They aren't too long and if one does get hooked then by book 7 they do get quite long and don't feel short over too fast.
I bought this book, read two chapters and stopped reading it for nearly 2 years. Only came back because I was bored and glad I did. While it didn't click at first for me and felt weird making me think it was going to be some cheap mage girl falls for forbidden other race man, it wasn't that at all.
Now I'm 10 books in and hooked, It isn't fast or some long setup to get somewhere. The plot and story is just slice of life growing in her magic. Every book is really just focused on that book and what she's doing.
For how little happens yet how much she grows, this series I think is great for some and will be very boring for others. I quite liked the characters and interactions, especially with the audible version listening to Tess Irondale narrate this, so for me it was great.
I suggest at least giving the first a try. They aren't too long and if one does get hooked then by book 7 they do get quite long and don't feel short over too fast.
April 18, 2023
Good start
I would say this was an amazing first book. The only reason I didn’t give it a 5 is due to the MC not being especially competent. Don’t get me wrong she did great things on her journey but her magic was fairly uninteresting. In the entirety of the book her skin hardened a couple of times and she made a couple things float, that’s it. I’m not sure if this is quite a cultivation magic system but it’s close enough and I find magic systems like that tedious. Firstly because it’s a lot of effort for very little gain and typically slow progression. The author did an amazing job making the world and story interesting but in reality the magic you saw was basic and not all the original. She wasn’t good at inscription or any other crafting based magic and so she isn’t really useful for anything. She is supposedly powerful but has no means to express that.
I would say this was an amazing first book. The only reason I didn’t give it a 5 is due to the MC not being especially competent. Don’t get me wrong she did great things on her journey but her magic was fairly uninteresting. In the entirety of the book her skin hardened a couple of times and she made a couple things float, that’s it. I’m not sure if this is quite a cultivation magic system but it’s close enough and I find magic systems like that tedious. Firstly because it’s a lot of effort for very little gain and typically slow progression. The author did an amazing job making the world and story interesting but in reality the magic you saw was basic and not all the original. She wasn’t good at inscription or any other crafting based magic and so she isn’t really useful for anything. She is supposedly powerful but has no means to express that.
September 14, 2023
Wow! This was my first exposure to J.L. Mullins and I can't wait to read more!
He devises a world that is inherently magical and humanity must fortify itself within cities to defend against natural magic. Into this world comes a newly graduated mage, Tala. She was sold to a mage school by her impoverished parents to pay debts, so she graduates with a boatload of debt.
Tala foregoes the normal apprenticeship to a senior mage as a mageling and hires herself out as a full mage to a guild of caravan mages. She's super cost and money conscious. She has a great deal of power and knowledge, but she is ignorant of much of the customs and economy of mages and caravans. But she learns.
That's her best strength--learning quickly and diligently. Her greatest weakness is taking great risks. Her magic is focused on protecting her life--she has little offensive magic. But she's very creative in using it.
If you like strong characters and magic, this one's for you!
He devises a world that is inherently magical and humanity must fortify itself within cities to defend against natural magic. Into this world comes a newly graduated mage, Tala. She was sold to a mage school by her impoverished parents to pay debts, so she graduates with a boatload of debt.
Tala foregoes the normal apprenticeship to a senior mage as a mageling and hires herself out as a full mage to a guild of caravan mages. She's super cost and money conscious. She has a great deal of power and knowledge, but she is ignorant of much of the customs and economy of mages and caravans. But she learns.
That's her best strength--learning quickly and diligently. Her greatest weakness is taking great risks. Her magic is focused on protecting her life--she has little offensive magic. But she's very creative in using it.
If you like strong characters and magic, this one's for you!
November 7, 2025
Book for YA who have not read , seen or listened to anything iseakai, litrpg, progression, western-wannabe-japanese-novel EVER.
Its a well written, well edited TROPE.
BAD BOOK.
I quote another comment
[* a girl trying to pay a debt
*a magician growing in power
*an overpowered MC who is not bright
a sassy girl who is really nice and gives you the patented smirk.
* a noble (or of a higher social strata that everyone else) who is humble and call me by the name
* Joss Whedon banter.
*a soft post-apocalyptic with magitek. }
Also, men/males are either brutes, anime-bishonen or wimps....
I DETEST when MC female, female oriented books are written for 'idiot "females" who could not possible understand Sanderson-level magic systems'
WE ARENT IDIOTS, we should not be force fed wimpy magic systems, pre chewed thoughts and 'easy' world building lest our weak minds implode.
Its a well written, well edited TROPE.
BAD BOOK.
I quote another comment
[* a girl trying to pay a debt
*a magician growing in power
*an overpowered MC who is not bright
a sassy girl who is really nice and gives you the patented smirk.
* a noble (or of a higher social strata that everyone else) who is humble and call me by the name
* Joss Whedon banter.
*a soft post-apocalyptic with magitek. }
Also, men/males are either brutes, anime-bishonen or wimps....
I DETEST when MC female, female oriented books are written for 'idiot "females" who could not possible understand Sanderson-level magic systems'
WE ARENT IDIOTS, we should not be force fed wimpy magic systems, pre chewed thoughts and 'easy' world building lest our weak minds implode.
October 5, 2023
Tala is the best mage that every maged. She's also training to be the best fighter that ever fighted. She also is so charismatic that 90% of everyone she meets falls over themselves to give her special treatment. She also has magical ancient artifacts fall into her lap. She also has magical ancient animals bond with her to protect her.
I really liked the world building, where humanity is restricted to a limited number of cities all going through a continuous rise and decline cycle, and where magic holds a lot of secrets that are not given out willy nilly to novices, not even Tala (except some rules are bent for her, of course). This carried me through book 3, but enough is enough.
No idea why it labels itself as "slice of life". It is a standard adventure novel.
I really liked the world building, where humanity is restricted to a limited number of cities all going through a continuous rise and decline cycle, and where magic holds a lot of secrets that are not given out willy nilly to novices, not even Tala (except some rules are bent for her, of course). This carried me through book 3, but enough is enough.
No idea why it labels itself as "slice of life". It is a standard adventure novel.
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